The rapid shift to the commercialisation of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and its relentless efforts to extract as much revenue as possible from its members have fundamentally changed its relationship with practitioners.
It is not a guardian of high standards in the profession. It does little that is effective to validate the ongoing competence of its members once they have achieved their desired membership status.
Anyone that has attended a CIPD branch meeting or an accredited event will probably have been amazed at the rush from students to get their accreditation validated. This is no guarantee of competence it’s simply a record of attendance.
If the CIPD ever aspires to be a respected governing body, it first needs to redress the balance between developing its members and exploiting them as a source of revenue.
This year I decided not to renew my subscription to the CIPD when I realised I was being regularly asked to pay several hundreds of pounds to be briefed on emerging legislation. Isn’t this one of the fundamental responsibilities of a professional body to its members?
Alan Staniforth
Director of group HR
